Written Answers Tuesday 9 January 2007

Scottish Executive

Apprenticeships

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) from 16 to 24 and (b) 25 and over are currently participating in the modern apprenticeship scheme and how many places will be available on modern apprenticeship schemes in 2007.

Allan Wilson: In Scotland at the start of December there were (a) 28,100 people aged 16-24 doing a modern apprenticeship (MA) and (b) 5,860 aged 25 or above.

  The MA programme continues to be demand-led so unfortunately we have no way of telling how many new starts there will be in 2007. However, the enterprise networks will continue to ensure that there are at least 30,000 MAs in training as set out within the Partnership Agreement.

Public Private Partnerships

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all consortia and component companies that have been awarded PFI contracts.

Mr Tom McCabe: For details of consortia awarded PPP contracts, I refer the member to the Scottish Executive Financial Partnerships Unit’s website at www.scotland.gov.uk/ppp.

  For component companies awarded PPP contracts, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-29142 on 15 November 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search. 

  Details of sub-contractors are not held centrally.

  In addition to the answer to question S2W-29142, both Angus and South Ayrshire Councils’ Schools PPP projects have now also reached financial close. The component companies for the Angus project comprise Robertson Capital Projects Ltd, Robertson Construction Eastern Ltd and Robertson Facilities Management Ltd. The component companies for the South Ayrshire project comprise Carillion Construction, Cyril Sweett Holdings Ltd and Mitie PFI Ltd.

Sex Offenders

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average (a) sentence and (b) time served by convicted child sex offenders was in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The requested information is not held centrally. However, information is available on the average sentence length of those persons sentenced by the courts to a period of imprisonment for a sexual offence:

  

 
2004-05
2005-06


Average determinate (non life) sentence in days
892
759


Number of life/section 205 sentenced receptions
8
12



  The above data refer to prisoners recorded as either current and previous sex offenders.

Wildlife

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution Forum was set up; what its membership is; how often has it met, and what action it has taken to increase links between legislators, enforcers and prosecutors.

John Beckett QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) set up the Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution Forum in late 2005. Its membership comprises representatives from the police, RSPB, Scottish SPCA, Scottish Natural Heritage, relevant divisions of the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs and Justice Departments and from COPFS. It has met twice, in January and August 2006, and future meetings are planned to take place twice a year or as necessary.

  Meetings of the forum have contributed to enhancing the links between forum members. At local level, the COPFS wildlife specialist prosecutors are in regular touch with local officials from relevant agencies about the detailed investigation and prosecution of wildlife and habitats crime in relation to particular cases, while at national level forum meetings address issues of general policy and practice. The creation of the forum has also provided an opportunity for its chairperson to meet and speak to other wildlife groups and organisations about their work.

Wildlife

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what training and support is given to prosecutors by the Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution and Forum.

John Beckett QC: The Wildlife and Habitats Crime Prosecution Forum was established to provide an opportunity for its members to consider issues and identify any problems relating to their work of investigating and prosecuting wildlife and habitats crime, consider ways of bringing about any necessary improvements in law and practice and achieve the effective enforcement of wildlife and habitats policy.

  The forum itself, and the networks it creates, enhance expertise and provide mutual support for the wildlife specialist prosecutors. Formal and informal contact with the agencies and regular contact between the specialist prosecutors themselves contribute to this. The second meeting of the forum, for example, was attended by as many as possible of the wildlife prosecutors and was arranged to follow immediately after a training session at which forum members from RSPB Scotland, Scottish SPCA and Scottish Natural Heritage gave presentations about their work. Additionally, before the agenda is prepared for forum meetings the wildlife prosecutors are asked to submit details of any topical issues or problems on which the forum might provide advice or guidance. In general, the forum is likely to inform and feed into formal training provided elsewhere.